


The Room Spins When I Try To Stand

by starfleetblues



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Gen, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, concussion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 17:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10168049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starfleetblues/pseuds/starfleetblues
Summary: What if Jack was injured before his NHL career even truly began? How would the son of a legend be able to recover if he wasn't able to play in his first ever NHL game?(Jack's concussed, and it's... not fun. He's cranky. Bitty loves him. Jack wants to play hockey. It's a mess.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Jack's own injury is based loosely off of the concussion Sidney Crosby had that took him out of the first few games of the season (and my boy is still mf killING IT IM SO PROUD) and his symptoms are based off of what I experienced when I concussed myself a few weeks ago (0/10 DO NOT RECOMMEND ITS NOT FUN). I'm far from an expert on concussions, and I know everyone's experiences differ, so this might not sound like what you went through if you've ever been concussed (it sucks don't try this at home kids)

Jack knows that once you’ve been concussed once, you have a higher risk of being concussed again. He knows that hockey is a contact sport, and he knows that he needs to be careful, more now than ever before because, well, the NHL is more physical than NCAA and junior hockey. He also knows that he has anxiety, which hasn’t faded away as well as he hoped it would after being drafted, and he’s probably pushing himself a little too hard in practice, but. 

He’s the son of Bad Bob Zimmermann, isn’t he? He’s a hockey prodigy, was supposed to go first in the draft. Jack Zimmermann has to prove himself as more than just his father’s son and a washed-up draft pick, someone worthy of playing in the NHL.

His first few months in Providence, Jack doesn’t entirely know what to do with himself. Georgia introduces him to a couple of his new teammates when the Falconers are knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, and Jack slowly begins to learn his way around the CVS Centre and the fastest route to the APC icehouse. He spends the summer building up his muscle mass, and takes up Uncle Mario’s offer to spend a few days in Pittsburgh to catch up with he and Sid before everyone goes their own way for the offseason. Sid offers him the guest room in Nova Scotia and to train with he and Nate for the summer, but Jack declines. He already knows people will be comparing him to Sid all season long, and it doesn’t need to start any earlier than it has to. 

When the team is all back in town, Jack meets the majority of his teammates. Tater has taken a shine to him, deciding Jack will need guidance and he, as the most outgoing person on the team, is the best candidate. Jack doesn’t mind- Tater does enough talking for the both of them, and it allows Jack to get to know his line mate better. He’s clicking with his teammates, and Bittle’s coming down next week, and the first game is coming up. Jack is finally, finally living his dreams.

It’s the day after the first preseason game when Jack wakes up with a headache, and his mind racing. The last time his head hurt this badly was when he was concussed his freshman year in- oh. 

Jack had taken a hit during the game last night- nothing too serious, just a scrum that ended with him whacking his head solidly on the glass in the third, but he thought that he was fine, brushed off the trainers when they tried to pull him for concussion protocol. It was his first game; he couldn’t leave before it was done. However, Jack also knows that if he actually has a concussion, he needs to rest as much as he can, and he sighs as he sets an alarm for an hour before he has to be back at the rink and tries to fall back asleep.  
When he gets to the rink, everything is loud and bright and it hurts, so he dodges Tater in the lobby and heads for the trainer’s room, where Greg nods and points to a bed when he sees that Jack still has his sunglasses on. 

He’s right, when they run through the concussion protocol- Jack doesn’t have any of the characteristic confusion or memory loss, he didn’t have it last night either- but he’s dizzy, can barely walk straight, and his head hasn’t stopped hurting all morning, so Greg diagnoses him with a minor concussion and accompanies him to talk to Shawn, who is less surprised than Jack had hoped and they make a plan for Jack’s return based on how he feels each morning.

Jack wants to push himself and go back the next day, but he knows he can’t. He lies on the couch and watches Netflix with the volume down low, and he ignores his phone for the full day.

On the third day, he texts Bitty in the morning not to come. He knows he’ll be irritable, he can already feel the headache building for the day and he’s not in the mood to fight with his boyfriend all weekend. He texts Greg, Shawn, and Georgia about his progress, and climbs back in bed.

The fourth day, Jack sleeps until he hears someone knocking on the door. He waits, hoping it will stop, but whoever is outside doesn’t give up, so Jack drags himself out of bed, pulling the door open with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders to see Bitty standing outside with what must be at least a week’s worth of groceries in his hands. Before Jack can protest, Bitty tells him to go sit down, and Jack is really, really dizzy still, so he nods and stumbles his way over to the couch and wraps the blanket farther around himself as he listens to Bitty move around the apartment, because he’s here, he came even though Jack told him not to, and Jack is nauseous and grumpy and can’t stand up or the walls will spin, but there’s someone here who cares about him and Jack should be grateful, he is grateful, but honestly, he just wants to sink into the couch cushions and sleep for the rest of the weekend and see if that makes his head stop pounding. He closes his eyes and tries to tune everything out, but when your boyfriend likes to cook and your neighbors have kids on a Saturday, it can be hard.

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knows, Bitty is gently shaking his shoulder, and there’s a bowl of chicken noodle soup on the coffee table, and Jack is so, so grateful that Bitty ignored him and came down to Providence to make sure he was okay. He thinks he’s really lucky, and he murmurs something along those lines when he’s finished the soup and Bitty is gently petting his head, but then he falls asleep so he’s not entirely sure if or what he said. 

He wakes up on Sunday with Bitty next to him in his bed, sipping a mug of coffee and doing something on his phone. He rolls over to rest his head on Bitty’s leg, and Bitty smiles, asking how he’s doing, and Jack scrunches up his nose. He’s better, he thinks, but he also hasn’t tried to stand up yet, and he knows it’ll probably be at least two days before he’s completely symptom free, if he’s lucky. Practice is still closed to the public, and Jack wants to see if he can skate, but first he has to make it to the bathroom without falling over.  
Bitty drives him to the afternoon skate and sits in the stands, working on a paper on his laptop and chatting with Georgia about the Samwell season while Jack tries not to look conspicuous in his yellow non-contact jersey. He fails, and he’s sure he’s all over the hockey media right now. He gets Bitty’s attention about halfway through practice when his head starts to hurt again, and Bitty waits to drive him home.

Classes don’t start for another week, and Bitty stays another night, texting Ransom and Holster that Jack needs someone to make sure that he’s okay and drive him around. 

On Monday, Jack tries to drink some coffee so he doesn’t fall asleep on the couch with Bitty while they watch a movie with the volume down low. It makes him throw up. He skips practice and takes a warm bath. Bitty spends another night.

Tuesday morning, Jack wakes up without a headache for the first time in a week. He’s still dizzy when he stands up, but he only has to grab the wall once on his way to the bathroom and kitchen each, and the smell of the coffee he starts for Bitty doesn’t make his stomach churn the way it did just yesterday, even before he tried to drink it.  
Jack still wears the yellow jersey Tuesday, but he makes it through the whole practice and he’s fairly steady on his skates. Greg and Shawn are both pleased, and Jack is pleased that he’ll soon be able to return to practicing in the muted blue and grey that his teammates are wearing. He takes Bitty to the game that night, sitting in the box with Ken and Brian. Uncle Mario is next door, and he stops by to check on Jack between periods.

The Falconers lose 3-4 to the Pens in OT. Bitty makes him hot chocolate when they get home, and Jack doesn’t say a word before they climb into bed. 

On Wednesday, Bitty goes back to Samwell to get some different clothes and talk to the coaches. Jack isn’t dizzy, but he still doesn’t trust himself to drive. His head still hurts a little, and Tater picks him up for practice. It’s the most quiet Jack has ever seen Tater, and he’s grateful that hockey players understand concussions. He wears the yellow jersey again, and Georgia keeps the media away from him. He’s grateful. Greg clears him to drive for short periods at a time again, given that he wears sunglasses and drives slowly. It's good, Jack likes to drive. Bitty won't let him drive home, so he dozes in the passenger seat.

On Thursday, Bitty has to go back to Samwell for good to get ready for the start of the year, and Jack drives him to the train station for the last train. He apologizes for such a disappointing week, that Bitty had to take care of him, but Bitty refuses to accept it, claims it wasn’t a burden at all, that’s what he’s there for. Jack’s really lucky. He doesn’t play again that night, watches the game at home, but Greg cleared him for a contact practice again tomorrow, and he’s excited. He wants to be back for the last preseason game, wants to prove himself. 

He finally replies to his mom’s texts, lets her know that he’s fine. Bitty had texted her for him a few days ago, told her not to come down- he was in good hands. She’ll be here in a week for the opener, she can check on him then. His dad was a little more understanding, but he still has a flurry of texts that he never responded to, and those are easier because he can talk hockey with his dad, and he can do it in French. 

He just has to keep playing. He has Bitty, he has hockey, and he has parents who care about him. He has a good life. He refuses to let a concussion prevent him from proving himself on the ice.


End file.
